RF connector and antenna assembly for control devices, for example, for control of or inclusion in a luminaire

ABSTRACT

An antenna assembly includes a radio frequency (RF) connector having a connector plug electrically connected to an antenna receptacle. The connector plug has a central terminal configured for connection to a wireless transceiver, and an end of the wire antenna is inserted in the antenna receptacle. Examples of RF connectors include U.FL, IPEX, IPAX, IPX, AMC, MHF and UMCC connectors that allow the wire antenna to be removably attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) of a lighting control device and to avoid hardwiring the antenna to the PCB. The wire antenna may be made of a shape memory alloy, such as nitinol. The device that includes the antenna assembly may be incorporated into a luminaire for wireless control of the luminaire, such that the wire antenna is positioned between a light source and a diffuser. A number of such luminaires may be combined to provide an intelligent lighting system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a divisional patent application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/213,697, filed Jul. 19, 2016, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present subject matter may be related to subject matter disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/213,693, filed Jul. 19, 2016, whichis incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates to techniques and equipment to makeand/or use a thin wire antenna, for example, for wireless controldevices, as well as to control devices, luminaires and other equipmentthat may incorporate the thin wire antenna.

BACKGROUND

Devices that use radio frequencies (RF) are highly regulated by thegovernment authorities, such as the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) in the United States, to ensure that the wireless spectrum may beshared by multiple private and government entities without interferingwith each other. Depending on the specific frequency bands, the FCC willrequire standards associated with one or more of output power,harmonics, occupied bandwidth, as well as confirming the intendedfunction and application of the device are compliant, for example.

Transmitters may operate at different frequencies, depending on theavailability of frequency bands that are relatively free ofinterference. The antenna for a transmitter or transceiver operating ina particular frequency band typically has a length approximately equalto one-quarter of the wavelength of the transmission frequency. In orderto comply with government regulations, manufacturers design severalvariants of the same product having different hard wired antennasdepending on the RF requirements of a particular location orapplication. The antennas may also be subject to damage duringmanufacture or installation of equipment in which the antennas areinstalled, thus affecting performance of the antennas and creatinganother difficulty for manufacturers.

Traditional luminaires can be turned ON and OFF, and in some cases maybe dimmed, usually in response to user activation of a relatively simpleinput device connected to lines supplying power to the luminaires. Oftentraditional luminaires are controlled individually or as relativelysmall groups at separate locations. More sophisticated lighting controlsystems automate the operation of the luminaires throughout a buildingor residence based upon preset time schedules, occupancy, and/ordaylight sensing. Such lighting control systems receive sensor signalsat a central lighting control panel, which responds to the receivedsignals by deciding which, if any, relays, switching devices, and/ordimming ballasts to drive in order to turn on or off and/or adjust thelight levels of one or more luminaires. More recently, lighting controlsystems have begun to utilize wireless communications in support ofmonitoring and luminaire control operations. Migration to wirelesscommunication, however, raises implications regarding the requirementsof radio frequency operations such as those outlined above, for example,how best to implement antennas optimized for communication on aparticular frequency band in a manner suitable for implementation in alighting system.

Thus, there is a need for improved antenna configurations, particularlythat may be suitable for use in control devices of or lighting fixturesor in other wireless intelligent lighting system elements that rely onthe use of the antennas for wireless lighting system communications.

SUMMARY

The concepts disclosed herein improve wireless antenna arrangements,particularly those for wireless communications for lighting systems.

In one example of a concept disclosed herein, an antenna assemblyincludes a radio frequency (RF) connector connected to a wire antenna.The wire antenna may include a shape memory alloy, such as nitinol.

In a more detailed example, the RF connector includes a coaxialconnector plug and an antenna receptacle. The connector plug has acentral terminal configured for connection to a wireless transceiver. Anend of the wire antenna is inserted in the antenna receptacle, such thatthe wire antenna is electrically connected to the female terminal of theRF connector.

The RF connector may be selected from the group consisting of a U.FL,IPEX, IPAX, IPX, AMC, MHF and UMCC connector that may be removablyattached to a printed circuit board on which the wireless transceiver ismounted.

In another example of a concept disclosed herein, a luminaire has alight source, a diffuser, and a wireless lighting control device. Thelighting control device includes a wireless transceiver and an antennaassembly having a wire antenna connected to the transceiver via an RFconnector as in one of the examples of the first concept describedabove. The wire antenna is positioned within the luminaire between thelight source and the diffuser.

One or more of the luminaires may be combined within an intelligentlighting system.

Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the examples willbe set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of thefollowing and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by productionor operation of the examples. The objects and advantages of the presentsubject matter may be realized and attained by means of themethodologies, instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord withthe present concepts, by way of example only, not by way of limitations.In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similarelements.

FIG. 1A is a bottom plan view of an antenna assembly according to anexample implementation;

FIG. 1B is a side view of the antenna assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 1C is a top plan view of the antenna assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2A is a top perspective view of the antenna assembly of FIG. 1Aconnected to a printed circuit board of a lighting control device withwireless communication capabilities, in this example, configured as asensor and control module;

FIG. 2B is a top perspective view of an assembled sensor and controlmodule that includes the antenna assembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3A is a photograph of a connector body included in the antennaassembly of FIG. 2A in the uncrimped condition;

FIG. 3B is a photograph of an overmolded portion of the antenna in theantenna assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3C is a photograph of a bottom view of a crimped connector of theantenna assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3D is a photograph of a side view of a crimped connector of theantenna assembly of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 4A is an exploded view of an end cap, a module and the sensor andcontrol module of FIG. 2B for a luminaire;

FIG. 4B is an assembled view of the sensor and control module of FIG.4A;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example of a luminairecomprising the sensor and control module of FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the elements of an example of aluminaire that includes a sensor and control module with the thin wireantenna.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

Intelligent lighting systems that communicate with each other wirelesslyvia the electromagnetic spectrum use antennas to transmit and receivecommunications. Implementation of antennas in lighting and other similarsystems raises some challenges. For example, it may be desirable toimplement an RF antenna in a luminaire at a location that does notdetract from the aesthetics of the luminaire once installed in a ceilingor the like. However, the antenna configuration should minimize or avoidattenuation of the RF to/from the antenna, for example, by metalcomponents of the luminaire. As noted, longer wavelength operations maydictate a longer antenna for optimum performance, but the longer antennais harder to hide in or around a luminaire with a metal housing withoutdegrading RF performance. Examples discussed below provide a new antennadesign suitable for RF communications, e.g. for monitoring and/orcontrol communications. Examples also encompass arrangements optimizedfor lighting applications, for example, for use in a luminaire so as toprovide adequate RF performance yet avoid adverse effects on lightingperformance (e.g. produce minimal shadow) and adverse effects on theaesthetics of the lighting equipment.

As noted, the antenna for a transmitter or transceiver operating in aparticular frequency band typically has a length approximately equal toone-quarter of the wavelength of the transmission frequency. Theseantennas are often soldered directly to a printed circuit board. Inorder to comply with government regulations, manufacturers designseveral variants of the same product having different hard wiredantennas depending on the RF requirements of a particular location orapplication. The antennas may also be subject to damage duringmanufacture or installation of the luminaires in which the antennas areinstalled, thus affecting performance of the antennas and creatinganother difficulty for manufacturers. Implementation for lighting andother applications may also be improved by further advances discussedbelow as to the structures utilized to attach, connect and/or mount anantenna to a circuitry of wireless communication device, such as awireless lighting control device.

Although some or all of the concepts discussed below may be advantageousin other non-lighting applications, further discussions will concentrateon applications in lighting systems, for example with wirelesscommunications to monitor and/or control operations of luminaires.

For that lighting related further discussion, the term “luminaire” isintended to encompass essentially any type of device that processespower to generate light, for example, for illumination of a spaceintended for use of or occupancy or observation, typically by a livingorganism that can take advantage of or be affected in some desiredmanner by the light emitted from the device. However, a luminaire mayprovide light for use by automated equipment, such as sensors/monitors,robots, etc. that may occupy or observe the illuminated space, insteadof or in addition light for an organism. A luminaire, for example, maytake the form of a table lamp, ceiling light fixture or other lightingdevice that incorporates a source, where the source by itself containsno intelligence or communication capability (e.g. LEDs or the like, orlamp (“regular light bulbs”) of any suitable type). Alternatively, alighting device or luminaire may be relatively dumb but include a sourcedevice (e.g. a “light bulb”) that incorporates the intelligence andcommunication capabilities described herein. In most examples, theluminaire(s) illuminate a service area to a level useful for a human inor passing through the space, e.g. regular illumination of a room orcorridor in a building or of an outdoor space such as a street,sidewalk, parking lot or performance premises served by a lightingsystem may have other lighting purposes, such as signage for an entranceor to indicate an exit. Of course, the luminaires may be configured forstill other purposes, e.g. to benefit human or non-human organisms or torepel or even impair certain organisms or individuals.

As outlined above, each luminaire includes a light source. The lightsource may be any type of light emitting unit, including but not limitedto light emitting diodes (LEDs), incandescent or fluorescent lamps,halogen or halide lamps, neon tubes, etc. In the examples describedherein, the luminaires also have smart capabilities. For example, theluminaires include or connect to an associated lighting control devicethat has a processor as well as one or more radio frequency (RF)transceivers to perform wireless communications with other luminairesand other wireless lighting control devices (e.g. Wall Switches,Sensors, etc.). The lighting control device included in luminairesutilize thin wire antenna assemblies as described in examples below. Towork with and control such luminaires, a wall switch or sensor typelighting control device typically includes a compatible RF transceiverand possibly a thin wire antenna assembly as described in examplesbelow. The wall switch or sensor type lighting control device may alsoinclude a processor, memory and firmware or other programming toconfigure the device to operate as outlined herein. The wirelesscommunication capability may extend to a gateway or other access pointfor communications outside the premises. Alternatively or in addition,the wireless communication capability may enable the lighting controldevice(s) to communicate with other devices at the premises, such asmobile devices of technicians or occupants.

The premises may be any location or locations serviced for lighting andother purposes by a system of the type described herein. Most of theexamples discussed below focus on indoor building installations, forconvenience. Hence, such a system may provide lighting in a number ofservice areas in or associated with a building, such as various rooms,hallways, corridors or storage areas of a building. Any building formingor at the premises, for example, may be an individual or multi-residentdwelling or may provide space for one or more enterprises and/or anycombination of residential and enterprise facilities. A premises mayinclude any number of such buildings; and, in a multi-building scenario,the premises may include outdoor spaces and lighting in areas betweenand around the buildings, e.g. in a campus configuration. The system mayinclude any number of luminaires and lighting control devices arrangedto illuminate each area of the particular premises.

The lighting control devices in a system such as outlined above utilizewireless communications in one or more RF bands. For those communicationpurposes, each wireless enabled lighting control device will have one ormore antennas. Implementation of antennas for effective wirelesscommunication in lighting equipment raises various technical concerns,examples of which are outlined above.

The various examples disclosed herein relate to an antenna assembly thatincludes a thin wire attached to an RF connector. The RF connector maybe removably attached to a printed circuit board of a lighting controldevice, thereby allowing a manufacturer to easily exchange antennaswithout requiring replacement of both the circuit board and antenna.This allows a manufacturer to more easily adjust the band in which thedevice must operate to comply with local regulations. The attachment ofthe thin wire to the RF connector may be accomplished by inserting anend of the thin wire directly into an antenna receptacle formed in theRF connector and crimping a portion of the RF connector around the thinwire, as will be described in greater detail below. The RF connector, inseveral examples, has a coaxial connector plug, e.g. for surface mountattachment to a mating connector on a printed circuit board with awireless transceiver. The attachment of the antenna wire to the RFconnector provides electrical connection to a central terminal of theconnector. The integral assembly thus formed by the RF connector andattached antenna wire can be mated to the connector on the printedcircuit board both to provide electrical connect of the antenna to thewireless transceiver and provide appropriate mounting and structuralsupport for the antenna, e.g. when the board and antenna assembly areincorporated into a control module, such as a module of a lightingcontrol device.

The lighting control devices that may use the thin wire antenna for RFwireless communication, as described herein, include wireless wallswitches, wireless occupancy sensors, wireless sensors configured todetect other lighting related conditions (e.g. ambient lightcharacteristics) or other types of control devices. Particularillustrated examples of the control devices are implemented within someor all of the system luminaires. Such lighting control devices inluminaires may include sensors (as in sensor and control module examplein later drawings) or may be control devices/modules without sensors.Where the lighting control device is incorporated in a luminaire, thethin wire antenna may extend from a housing or module of the controldevice into a space within the luminaire that is between the lightsource and a diffuser or the like. Because it is relatively thin, thewire does not produce much of a shadow. Also, when located between thelight source and diffuser, the antenna is not readily discernable to aperson looking at the luminaire from a space illuminated by theluminaire.

Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and discussed below, in which like numeralsidentify the same or similar features. Referring to a first example inFIGS. 1A to 1C, an antenna assembly 10 includes an RF connector having aconnector plug 14 that is attached to a thin wire antenna 16. The RFconnector plug coupled to the antenna may be male or female; and,conversely, the surface mount connector on the circuit board may befemale or male. For purposes of discussion, the drawing FIGS. 1A to 1Cdepicts a surface mount female type plug, such as a female U.FL plug.

The RF connector in the female plug example includes a cylindricalshielding shell 30 that houses a bifurcated female terminal 29essentially at a central location of the coaxial portion of theconnector configured to mate with the corresponding plug or socket onthe printed circuit board. In this way, the shell 30 and the centrallylocated terminal 29 provide the coaxial connection portion of theconnector plug 14 of the RF connector.

The female terminal 29 has been overmolded with a plastic to provide aninsulated housing 28. An annular region about the insulated housing 28and the female terminal 29 together are configured to receive acorresponding male connector (not shown) that may be soldered to aprinted circuit board (PCB), with the cylindrical shielding shell 30providing the ground connection. The male connector provides theelectrical connection to the wireless transceiver mounted on the PCB (asshown in FIG. 2A).

The female terminal 29 extends generally perpendicular to the thin wireantenna 16. The tip of the thin wire antenna 16 is inserted proximate tothe insulated housing 28, such that the tip of the thin wire antenna 16is in electrical contact with female terminal 29. A portion 20 of an endregion of the thin wire antenna 16 adjacent to the tip is overmoldedwith a plastic. A plurality of crimping members 37 a-b. 38 a-b. 39 a-b.and 41 a-b (best viewed in FIG. 3A), grip the overmolded portion 20 ofthe thin wire antenna 16 to maintain the position of the wire 16relative to the connector plug 14. The overmolded portion 20 allows forthe direct connection of the thin wire antenna 16 to the connector plug14. The dimensions and relative permittivity of the plastic overmold 20are selected to match the RF impedance of the transmitter ortransceiver.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the connector plug 14 of the RF connector isconnected to a surface mount connector on the circuit board 12, adjacentto an integrated circuit 19 that may include a transmitter ortransceiver. Connection of the connector and antenna to the boardprovides an appropriate RF coupling to the RF circuitry of thetransmitter or transceiver included in the integrated circuit 19. Inaddition, the integrated circuit may include a controller that controlsthe operation of the luminaire as described above. The positioning ofthe antenna 16 at a distance from the integrated circuit 19 may help toreduce RF interference in the operation of the integrated circuit or toplace the antenna at a location that is more convenient for mountingwithin the luminaire FIG. 2B shows the assembly, including the circuitboard and an enclosure 24 with the antenna 16 extending from theassembly. To accommodate the antenna 16, the enclosure 24 desirablyincludes a notch from which the antenna extends.

As mentioned above, the RF connector may be configured to allow forrepeated and relatively easy attachment and detachment from the printedcircuit board. The RF connector in the example, therefore, is asurface-mounted device. That is configured to be connected to a similarsurface mount device on the circuit board. The RF connector plug coupledto the antenna may be male or female and, conversely, the surface mountconnector on the circuit board may be female or male. The RF connectormay be selected from a variety of surface-mounted devices known to thoseof skill in the art, for example, from the group consisting of U.FL,IPEX, IPAX, IPX, AMC, MHF and UMCC connectors. The RF connector in theillustrated example is a U.FL connector and may be used forhigh-frequency signals up to 6 GHz.

By using a surface-mounted device as the RF connector, the antennaassemblies described herein may allow for both easy manufacture,modification and repair. A surface-mounted device eliminates manualprocess steps, such as soldering, from the manufacturing process. Also,by providing an antenna that is connected to a printed circuit board viaa surface-mounted device, a faulty or damaged antenna may be easilyreplaced, and several variants of the same or similar wireless lightingproducts operating in different frequency bands may be more easilyfabricated to comply with local government regulations by simplyexchanging the types of antennas used by the variants.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3D, various portions of the of the antennaassembly 10 shown in FIGS. 1A-1C at various stages of an assembly andcrimping operation are provided. FIGS. 3A and 3D show the cylindricalshielding portion 30 of a connector plug 14 and a crimping portion 15 ofthe RF connector prior to crimping. The RF connector also includes anantenna receptacle 34 between the cylindrical shielding portion 30 andthe crimping portion 15. The antenna receptacle 34 may include a hole 26to receive the tip 25 of the wire antenna 16.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the nitinol antenna element 16 extends through theplastic overmold portion 20, such that the tip 25 extends beyond theovermold portion 20. In one example, the overmold portion 20 may includethree regions 21, 22, 23 of varying thickness or diameter. Whenassembling the antenna assembly, in a first step the tip 25 may beinserted into the hole 26 of the antenna receptacle 34 until the leadingface of the first region 21 of the overmold portion 20 contacts theantenna receptacle 34. In a second step, the cylindrical shieldingportion 30 and the crimping portion 15 may be bent, such that thecylindrical shielding portion 30 is generally perpendicular to thecrimping portion 15. As a result of the bending operation, the tip 25 ofthe wire antenna 16 is pinched between the antenna receptacle and anovermolded female terminal 29 within the shielding portion 30. In afinal step, the crimping members 37 a-b, 38 a-b, 39 a-b, and 41 a-b arecrimped around the three regions 21, 22, 23 of the overmold portion 20of the thin wire antenna 16. The crimping operation provides anadditional pinching force that facilitates the connection between thetip 25 and the female terminal 29; however, the plastic material of theovermold portion 20 is sufficiently pliant to allow for stress reliefshould the wire antenna 16 need to shift slightly in response toexternal forces or heat expansion, for example. The crimping members 37a-b also secure the position of the shielding portion 30 by exerting aforce onto the tabs 27 a-b.

FIGS. 3C and 3D show the completed antenna assembly. Due to thesuper-elastic properties of nitinol, the crimping operation does notdamage the thin wire antenna 16 and the thin wire antenna 16 maintainsgood electrical contact with the connector plug 14 via the femaleterminal 29 when held by the an antenna receptacle 34. Because of thedirect connection between the connector plug 14 and thin wire antenna16, the antenna assembly 10 may be easily fabricated in a few crimpingsteps, thereby eliminating any extraneous connection steps. The antennaassembly 10 may be fabricated by an automated process, for example.Also, the antenna assembly is easily connectable, both for electricalconnection and antenna support, by merely coupling the RF connector tothe mating connector on the printed circuit board.

The thin wire antenna in the examples is formed of a shape memory alloy.By using a shape memory alloy, the thin wire antenna is less likely tolose its intended shape or be damaged during manufacture orinstallation. This is due to the superelastic properties of shape memoryalloys. In a certain temperature range, a stress may be applied to thealloy to change is shape, but as soon as the stress is removed, theshape memory alloy will spontaneously return to its original shape.Because superelasticity occurs at a narrow temperature range just abovethe alloy's transformation temperature, it may be advantageous that ashape memory alloy is selected such that the expected operatingtemperature of the luminaire is above the transformation temperature ofthe alloy and within the range at which superelasticity occurs. Thesuperelasticity temperature range of the thin wire antenna may be about−20 C to 85 C. A particular example of shape memory alloy is nitinol. Asknown by those of skill in the art, nitinol is an alloy of nickel andtitanium, where the two elements are present in roughly equal atomicpercentages. An example composition of nitinol alloy for use as a thinwire antenna according to the disclosed examples comprises about 55 to60 wt. % of Ni and 40 to 45 wt. % of Ti, as well as less than 1% ofadditional trace elements such as C, Co, Cu, Cr, Nb, Fe, O, N, and H.

As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the antennais not limited to any specific dimensions. Any dimensions, i.e. lengthand diameter, may be used, as long as the antenna is provided with anappropriate length (e.g. one-quarter wavelength of the transmissionfrequency or approximately 75 mm±10 mm for a 900 MHz signal) and designfrequency to transmit and receive various radio-frequency signals, suchas Bluetooth, Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) or sub-GHz signal. For example,the antenna may be made from a wire that is 50-100 mm. In the exampleimplementations, the sub GHz signal may be in the range of 750 MHz to930 MHz, more specifically in the range of 902 MHz to 928 MHz (one ofthe industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands in the UnitedStates). [In some examples the same wire antenna may be associated withmultiple transceivers to transmit and receive RF signals in differentbands. Alternatively, each transceiver may be associated with a singlewire antenna. The diameter of the antenna should also be sufficientlythick, so that the thin wire maintains relatively rigid and resistsdeformation. Examples of suitable diameters for the thin wire antennamay be in the range from 0.1 to 0.2 mm. The super-elastic properties ofnitinol greatly reduce the risks of deformation and allow the thin wireantenna to be thinner than if wire not having these properties wereused. Thus, the nitinol antenna is less obvious and, thus, moreaesthetically pleasing.

Referring to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5, the sensor and control module as anexample of a lighting control device in which the antenna assembly isprovided. In the example, the sensor and control module may be mountedto/within the end cap 36 of a luminaire 40. The sensor and controlmodule may include a detachable Fresnel lens component 35 in order toattach the housing 24 to the end cap 36. The Fresnel lens component 35is configured such that the Fresnel lens is exposed to the outside ofthe luminaire housing 46, while the remainder of the sensor and controlmodule is within the housing 46. As seen in the example of FIGS. 4A, 4B,and, a single antenna 16 extends from the sensor and control modulehousing 24; however, the sensor and control module may alternatively beprovided with a plurality of antennas.

Because the antenna is provided in the form of a relatively short thinwire, the antenna 16 may be located between the diffuser 44 and thelight source 42 of the luminaire 40, such that the antenna 16 is notconspicuous, but located in a position away from grounded metallicelements that may affect the performance of the antenna 16. The compactdesign of the sensor and control module allows for compliance with localsafety regulations that may require the entire luminaire to be locatedwithin an electrical box. In other examples, one or more antennae mayextend in any direction including outside of the luminaire housing 46,for example.

One or more luminaires, such as the luminaire 200 illustrated in thefunctional block diagram of FIG. 6, may be combined within a wirelessintelligent lighting system. Luminaire 200 is an integrated lightfixture that generally includes a power supply 305 driven by a powersource 300. Power supply 305 receives power from the power source 300,such as an AC mains, battery, solar panel, or any other AC or DC source.Power supply 305 may include a magnetic transformer, electronictransformer, switching converter, rectifier, or any other similar typeof circuit to convert an input power signal into a power signal suitablefor luminaire 200.

Luminaire 200 further includes an intelligent LED driver circuit 310,sensor/control module 315, and a light emitting diode (LED) light source320. Intelligent LED driver circuit 310 is coupled to LED light source320 and drives that LED light source 320 by regulating the power to LEDlight source 320 by providing a constant quantity or power to LED lightsource 320 as its electrical properties change with temperature, forexample. The intelligent LED driver circuit 310 includes a drivercircuit that provides power to LED light source 320 and a pilot LED 317.The pilot LED 317 may be included as part of the sensor/control module315. Intelligent LED driver circuit 310 may be a constant-voltagedriver, constant-current driver, or AC LED driver type circuit thatprovides dimming through a pulse width modulation circuit and may havemany channels for separate control of different LEDs or LED arrays. Anexample of a commercially available intelligent LED driver circuit 310is manufactured by EldoLED.

LED driver circuit 310 can further include an AC or DC current source orvoltage source, a regulator, an amplifier (such as a linear amplifier orswitching amplifier), a buck, boost, or buck/boost converter, or anyother similar type of circuit or component. LED driver circuit 310outputs a variable voltage or current to the LED light source 320 thatmay include a DC offset, such that its average value is nonzero, and/ora AC voltage. The pilot LED 317 indicates the state of the luminaire 10,for example, during the commissioning and maintenance process.

For purposes of communication and control, luminaire 200 is treated assingle addressable device that can be configured to operate as a memberof one or more lighting control groups or zones. The luminaire 200 isline powered and remains operational as long as power is available.

Sensor/control module 315 includes power distribution circuitry 325, amicro-control unit (MCU) 330, drive/sense circuitry 335, and detector(s)365. As shown, MCU 330 is coupled to LED driver circuit 310 and controlsthe light source operation of the LED light source 320. MCU 330 includesa memory 322 (volatile and non-volatile) and a central processing unit(CPU) 323. The memory 322 may include a lighting application 327 (whichcan be firmware) for both lighting control operations and commissioning,maintenance, and diagnostic operations. The power distribution circuitry325 distributes power and ground voltages to the MCU 330, drive/sensecircuitry 335, wireless transceivers 350, and detector(s) 365 to providereliable operation of the various circuitry on the sensor/control module315 chip.

In one lighting system, the sensor/control module 315 may includevarious components associated with the drive/sense circuitry 335 anddetectors 365. For example, the printed circuit board for thesensor/control module 315 may include an LED and an indicator LED lightpipe for indicating a status of the system and a photosensor light pipeto allow for the automatic adjustment of light emitted by the luminairebased on ambient conditions. Alternatively, the sensor/control module315 may include a pyroelectric presence sensor, Fresnel lens, and lightpipe to direct ambient light from the service area toward pyroelectricsensors on the circuit board. These sensors may be coupled to circuitrythat analyzes differences between light incident on the sensors toidentify individuals moving in the service area in order to determinewhen the service area is occupied.

As shown, the MCU 330 includes programming in the memory 322 whichconfigures the CPU (processor) 323 to control operations of therespective luminaire 200, including the communications over the twodifferent wireless communication bands via the one or more wirelesstransceivers 350. The programming in the memory 322 includes a real-timeoperating system (RTOS) and further includes a lighting application 327which is firmware/software that engages in communications with thecommissioning/maintenance application of user interface. (not shown),such as a mobile device, over a commissioning network. The lightingapplication 327 programming in the memory 322 carries out lightingcontrol operations over the lighting control network. The RTOS supportsmultiple concurrent processing threads for different simultaneouscontrol or communication operations of the luminaire 200. In FIG. 6, inaddition to the memory 322 and the CPU 323 of the MCU 330 itself, theone or more transceivers 350 may each include a separate memory (notshown) and a processor (not shown).

The micro-control unit 330 of the sensor/control module 315 may, forexample, control light emitted by the lighting elements of the luminaireto implement a visible light communication (VLC) system. One example ofa VLC system is a location system in which each luminaire broadcasts arespective identifier (ID) value that may be received by a user-operatedmobile device (not shown) in the service area. The mobile device maythen determine its position by associating the ID value with a locationusing either previously downloaded data or data accessible to the mobiledevice via a server computer (not shown).

The drive/sense circuitry 335 may provide power to the lighting elementsand modulate the light provided by the lighting elements. For example,if the lighting elements are light emitting diodes (LEDs), the driver335 converts available AC (or possibly DC) power to current to drive theLEDs to achieve a desired light level. Of course other types of lightsources and corresponding driver circuits may be used.

The CPU 323 may be configured to control the operation of the lightingelement via the driver/sense circuitry 335. The CPU 323 may also becoupled to communicate via the one or more transceivers to acommunication interface (not shown). The communication interfaceprovides communications functions for sending and receiving data via awireless network operating in the service area.

The CPU 323 may be implemented via hardwired logic circuitry, or it mayinclude a programmable processor such as a programmable centralprocessing unit (CPU) of a microcontroller, microprocessor or the like.The memory 322 may be used for storing programming for execution by theCPU 323 and data, including the ID value.

The sensor/control module 315 may receive lighting commands via thenetwork and provide device status to the network using thecommunications interface and the antenna 16. The signals and/or commandssupplied may cause the sensor/control module 315 to modulate powersupplied by the power supply 305 to the lighting elements according tothe commands and/or processed data and thereby modulate the output ofthe light source 320 to turn the lighting elements on or off, to changethe illumination characteristics of the lighting elements, or tobroadcast data on the modulated light output of the lighting elementsinto the service area illuminated by the luminaire 200.

Luminaire 200 may also include a dual-band wireless radio communicationinterface system configured for two way wireless communication. In oneexample, luminaire 200 has one or more radio transceivers 350 for RFcommunications having an antenna 16 as described above. The one or moretransceivers 350 may issue control operations on the lighting controlnetwork for any-to-many communication over a wireless communication bandand/or control and systems operations information during luminaireoperation and during control network operation. One or more of the radiotransceivers 350 may also carry out commissioning, maintenance, anddiagnostics of the lighting control network by point-to-pointcommunication, over a different wireless communication band using thesame antenna 16, of information other than the control and systemsoperations information, concurrently with at least some communicationsover the first wireless communication band.

The term “coupled” as used herein refers to any logical, physical orelectrical connection, link or the like by which signals produced by onesystem element are imparted to another “coupled” element. Unlessdescribed otherwise, coupled elements or devices are not necessarilydirectly connected to one another and may be separated by intermediatecomponents, elements or communication media that may modify, manipulateor carry the signals.

It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein havethe ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions withrespect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and studyexcept where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be usedsolely to distinguish one entity or action from another withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or orderbetween such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof, are intended tocover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article,or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include onlythose elements but may include other elements not expressly listed orinherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An elementpreceded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, precludethe existence of additional identical elements in the process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Unless otherwise stated, any and all measurements, values, ratings,positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are setforth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, areapproximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable rangethat is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with whatis customary in the art to which they pertain.

While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the bestmode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modificationsmay be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may beimplemented in various forms and examples, and that they may be appliedin numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein.It is intended by the following claims to claim any and allmodifications and variations that fall within the true scope of thepresent concepts.

What is claimed is:
 1. A luminaire comprising: a light source; adiffuser; an antenna assembly comprising: a radio frequency (RF)connector including a central terminal that is configured to beconnected to a mating connector; a wire antenna positioned between thelight source and the diffuser and coupled to the RF connector, wherein,the wire antenna comprises a shape memory alloy, and a tip of the wireantenna that is coupled to the RF connector extends generallyperpendicularly with respect to the central terminal; and an overmoldedportion that surrounds the wire antenna and is spaced apart from thetip, an entirety of the overmolded portion being positioned within theRF connector such that the RF connector is connected to the overmoldedportion for maintaining a position of the wire antenna relative to thecentral terminal and the overmolded portion does not extend beyond theRF connector.
 2. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein: the RF connectorincludes: a coaxial connector plug with the central terminal configuredfor connection to a wireless transceiver, and an antenna receptacle; andthe tip of the wire antenna is disposed in the antenna receptacle andelectrically connected to the central terminal of the RF connector. 3.The luminaire of claim 2, wherein the RF connector is selected from thegroup consisting of a U.FL, IFEX, IPAX, IPX, AMC, MHF and UMCCconnector.
 4. The luminaire of claim 2, wherein the RF connector is aU.FL connector.
 5. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the shape memoryalloy is nitinol.
 6. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein a plastic formsthe overmolded portion.
 7. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the RFconnector further comprises a plurality of crimping members configuredto grip the overmolded portion of the wire antenna.
 8. The luminaire ofclaim 1, further comprising a printed circuit board carrying a wirelesstransceiver and the antenna assembly, wherein the RF connector isremovably attached to the wireless transceiver on the printed circuitboard to removably attach the wire antenna to the wireless transceiver.9. The luminaire of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of antennaassemblies.
 10. The luminaire of claim 1, wherein the overmolded portionextends perpendicularly with respect to the central terminal.